Visit the official website for the band Foster the People, click on the shows tab and scroll down. Under the tickets column, the words “sold out” appear over and over again. Yes, Foster the People is the current big thing.
“It’s funny because it doesn’t really seem that long ago that we were doing the whole thing where you send texts to your friends and post fliers, kind of whore yourself out to get friends to come to the show,’ said Foster the People drummer Mark Pontius during a phone interview from Scottsdale, Ariz., earlier this month. “It really doesn’t seem like that long ago that we were doing that.”
| Onstage |
| Foster the People |
| Where: 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW |
| When: 6 and 9:30 p.m. Monday |
| Info: Sold out, but tickets might be available through resellers; 930.com |
Foster the People has a pair of sold-out shows at the 9:30 Club on Monday.
For those wondering who the heck these guys are, just turn on the radio or flip on the television. Foster the People is the band behind the hit song “Pumped Up Kicks.” In a recent Rolling Stone readers poll of the best songs of the summer, “Pumped Up Kicks” finished second.
Pontius attributes the success of “Pumped Up Kicks” to it’s catchy, upbeat sound, despite the song’s dark lyrics portraying of gun violence.
“It’s got that summer sound,” Pontius said. “If you listen to the lyrics, it’s not necessarily a happy story by any means.”
If it seems like the Los Angeles band came out of nowhere, that’s only partially true. The band, which includes lead singer/keyboardist Mark Foster and bassist Cubbie Fink, formed in 2009 and found success in two short years. The band’s debut album, “Torches,” filled with infectious, dance-worthy tunes, dropped in May, and the past few months have been a whirlwind for the trio.
However, the members of Foster the People have worked in the music industry for a number of years.
“We’ve been doing this a long time,” Pontius said. “We’ve been working hard to have a career in music. We’re happy we’re having so much success. We don’t want to turn anything down. We want to do as much as we can.”
It remains to be seen if Foster the People will be able to build on the success of “Pumped Up Kicks.” And there should be no doubt that Foster the People will be able to handle the success.
“We’ve got a really good, solid relationship with each other and kind of keep each other accountable,” Pontius said.
